Low Profile Auxiliary Component Mounting Article

ABSTRACT

A low profile component mounting article is provided and includes a structure base, wherein the structure base defines a base cavity for containing a laptop computing device. The structure base further defines a cable opening and is configured to contain an auxiliary component having a connector cable, wherein the cable opening is communicated with the base cavity, and wherein when the auxiliary component is located within the base cavity, at least a portion of the extends out of the cable opening. Additionally, the structure base further includes a cable storage mount located proximate the cable opening and configured to removably contain the connector cable and a cable connector mount located proximate the cable storage mount and configured to removably contain the cable connector.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to and claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/455,769 filed Feb. 7, 2017,the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to laptop computers and moreparticularly to an auxiliary hard drive for a laptop computer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the biggest problems with portable computing devices (such as alaptop computer or a tablet) is the lack of available storage space, orhard drive capacity. This is especially true for laptops, or tablets,where the computing devices are either not configured, or do not havethe capacity, to increase the size of the hard drive or to addadditional hard drives due to enclosure size or access. One solution tothis problem is to attach an auxiliary hard drive to the laptop ortablet, where the auxiliary hard drive plugs into the computing devicevia an external connection, such as a USB connection. Unfortunatelyhowever, current methods for associating these auxiliary hard driveswith laptops or tablets involve carrying around the auxiliary hard drivealong with its connector cables, which requires attaching the hard driveto the laptop with the connector cable every time the user uses thelaptop, or tablet. This is undesirable because it requires an externalcarrier, which may be substantially sized, and an inconvenient setupconfiguration, such as a surface to support the auxiliary hard drive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A low profile auxiliary hard drive mounting article is provided andincludes a structure top cover and a structure base. The structure baseincludes a base top, a base bottom, a base front, a base rear and basesides which define a base cavity, wherein the structure top cover isconfigured to at least partially enclose the base cavity. The structurebase further defines a component cavity and a cable opening, wherein thecable opening is communicated with the component cavity, and wherein thecomponent cavity is configured to contain an auxiliary hard drive and atleast a portion of a connector cable having a cable connector. The cableopening is configured to allow at least a portion of the connector cableand the cable connector to extend therefrom and the structure basefurther includes a cable storage mount and a cable connector mount,wherein the cable storage mount is located proximate the cable opening.Additionally, the cable storage mount is configured to securinglycontain the connector cable and the cable connector mount is configuredto securingly contain the cable connector.

A low profile component mounting article is provided and includes astructure base, wherein the structure base includes a base top, a basebottom, a base front, a base rear and base sides which define a basecavity. The structure base further defines a component cavity and acable opening, wherein the cable opening is communicated with thecomponent cavity, and wherein the component cavity is configured tocontain an auxiliary component and at least a portion of a connectorcable having a cable connector, wherein the cable opening is configuredto allow at least a portion of the connector cable and the cableconnector to extend therefrom. Moreover, the structure base furtherincludes a cable storage mount and a cable connector mount, wherein thecable storage mount is located proximate the cable opening.

A low profile component mounting article is provided and includes astructure base, wherein the structure base defines a base cavity forcontaining a laptop computing device. The structure base further definesa cable opening and is configured to contain an auxiliary componenthaving a connector cable, wherein the cable opening is communicated withthe base cavity, and wherein when the auxiliary component is locatedwithin the base cavity, at least a portion of the extends out of thecable opening. Additionally, the structure base further includes a cablestorage mount located proximate the cable opening and configured toremovably contain the connector cable and a cable connector mountlocated proximate the cable storage mount and configured to removablycontain the cable connector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present inventionshould be more fully understood from the accompanying detaileddescription of illustrative embodiments taken in conjunction with thefollowing Figures in which like elements are numbered alike in theseveral Figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front side view of an auxiliary hard drive mountingsystem, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a top down side isometric view of a structure basewithout the base cover of the auxiliary hard drive mounting article ofFIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top down view of the structure base of FIG. 2, without thebase cover.

FIG. 4 is side, top down isometric view of the structure base of FIG. 2,without the base cover.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the structure base of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a top down side isometric view of the structure base of FIG.2, showing an exploded view of the right rear corner.

FIG. 7 is a top down view of an auxiliary hard drive for use with thestructure base of FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 8 is a top down view of the auxiliary hard drive of FIG. 7associated with the structure base of FIG. 2, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a base cover being associated with thestructure base of FIG. 2 to cover the structure base cavity, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a laptop computing device associated with thestructure base of FIG. 2, with the laptop computing device in an openedconfiguration.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a laptop computing device associated with thestructure base of FIG. 2, with the laptop computing device in a closedconfiguration.

FIG. 12 is a bottom up side isometric view of the laptop cover, of theauxiliary hard drive mounting article of FIG. 1, in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a top down side isometric view of the laptop cover of FIG.12.

FIG. 14 is a rear side view of a laptop computing device associated withthe auxiliary hard drive mounting article of FIG. 1, with the laptopcomputing device in an opened configuration.

FIG. 15 is a top down view of a structure base of an auxiliary harddrive mounting article device, in accordance with still yet anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 is a bottom up down view of the structure base of FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a top down side perspective view of a structure top cover ofthe auxiliary hard drive mounting article device of FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is a front view of the structure base of FIG. 15.

FIG. 19 is a left side view of the structure base of FIG. 15.

FIG. 20 is a right side view of the structure base of FIG. 15.

FIG. 21 is a top down view and an end view of a component for use withthe structure base of FIG. 15, in accordance with another embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 22 is a top down view of the component of FIG. 20 associated withthe structure base of FIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, an auxiliary hard drive mounting article 100 isshown in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,wherein the auxiliary hard drive mounting article 100 includes anarticle structure 102 having a structure base 104 and a structure topcover 105. It should be appreciated that the auxiliary hard drivemounting article 100 is configured to be low profile such that when theauxiliary hard drive mounting article 100 is associated with a laptop,the profile of the auxiliary hard drive mounting article 100 isminimized. Referring to FIGS. 2-6, the structure base 104 includes abase top 106, a base bottom 108, a base front 110, a base rear 112, basesides 114 and a base edge 116 wherein the base edge 116 extends alongthe peripheral of the structure base 104. The structure base 104includes at least one front base wall 118 located proximate the baseedge 116, wherein the base wall 118 extends upward from the base top 106and extends at least partially along a portion of the base edge 116 onthe base front 110 and/or the base sides 114. Additionally, thestructure base 104 may further include at least one rear base wall 120.For example, in this embodiment, the structure base 104 includes a firstrear base wall 122 and a second rear base wall 124, wherein the firstrear base wall 122 extends upward from the base top 106 and extends atleast partially along a portion of one corner of the base edge 116 onthe base rear 112 and/or the base sides 114 and the second rear basewall 124 extends upward from the base top 106 and extends at leastpartially along a portion of the other corner of the base edge 116 onthe base rear 112 and/or the base sides 114. It should be appreciatedthat the base top 106, the at least one front base wall 118 and the atleast one rear base wall 120 define a structure base cavity 125 which isconfigured to contain a laptop (or tablet) computing device 126.

Moreover, the front base wall 118 includes one or more wall protrusions115 that are located proximate the top of the front base wall 118 andthat extend outwardly from the front base wall 118 in a direction thatis substantially perpendicular to the surface of the front base wall 118and that is toward the structure base cavity 125. It should beappreciated that when the laptop computing device 126 is associated withthe structure base 104, the one or more wall protrusions 115 interactwith the body of the laptop computing device 126 to secure the laptopcomputing device 126 within the structure base cavity 125. Referring toFIG. 10, it should be further appreciated that the structure base cavity125 may be sized such that when a computing device (i.e. a laptop,tablet, etc. . . . ) 126 is located within the structure base cavity125, the enclosure of the computing device 126 fits snugly andfrictionally interacts with the at least one front base wall 118, firstrear base wall 122 and second rear base wall 124 to be securely andremovably associated with the structure base 104. Additionally, it iscontemplated that in other embodiments the computing device (i.e. alaptop, tablet, etc. . . . ) 126 may be securely contained within thestructure base cavity 125 via any device and/or method suitable to thedesired end purpose, such as friction fit, clips, snaps, screws, Velcro®and/or adhesive.

The structure base 104 also includes a component cavity wall 128 whichextends upward from the base top 106, wherein the component cavity wall128 defines a component cavity 130 for containing a component, such asan auxiliary hard drive 132 (See FIG. 7). It should be appreciated thatthe structure base 104 may include one or more drive mounting openings134 located within the component cavity 130 which communicate the basebottom 108 with the base top 106. These drive mounting openings 134allow the auxiliary hard drive 132 to be securely mounted to thestructure base 104 via one or more mounting screws. It should be furtherappreciated that the structure base 104 includes a cable opening 138which is communicated with the component cavity 130. Additionally, thestructure base 104 further includes a cable storage mount 140 and acable connector mount 142, wherein the cable storage mount 140 and/orcable connector mount 142 are located proximate the cable opening 138.

Referring to FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, it is contemplated thatthe auxiliary hard drive 132 includes a connector cable 144 having acable connector 146 and when the auxiliary hard drive 132 is securelylocated within the component cavity 130, the connector cable 144protrudes out of the cable opening 138 to allow the cable connector 146to connect to the laptop computing device (i.e. a laptop, tablet, etc. .. . ) 126 which is associated with the structure base 104. When thelaptop computing device 126 is not in use, the connector cable 144 maybe associated with the cable storage mount 140 and the cable connector146 may be associated with the cable connector mount 142. Thisadvantageously allows the connector cable 144 to be securely stored awayto prevent the connector cable 144 and/or cable connector 146 from beingdamaged. It should be appreciated that in one embodiment, the cablestorage mount 140 and/or the cable connector mount 142 may be sized tofrictionally and securely contain the connector cable 144 and/or cableconnector 146, respectively. It is contemplated that in otherembodiments, the connector cable 144 and/or cable connector 146 may besecurely contained within the cable storage mount 140 and/or the cableconnector mount 142, respectively, via any method and/or device suitableto the desired end purpose, such as friction fit, clips, snaps, screws,Velcro®, adhesive and/or one or more protrusions which frictionallyinteract with the connector cable 144 and/or the cable connector 146.

Referring to FIG. 11, the hard drive mounting system 100 furtherincludes a base cover 150, wherein the base cover 150 is configured tocover and at least partially enclose the structure base cavity 125. Thebase cover 150 is sized and shaped to frictionally interact with thefront base wall 118, the first rear base wall 122 and the second rearbase wall 124 to be securely contained within the structure base cavity125 when the base cover 150 is associated with the structure base 104.It should be appreciated that in other embodiments the base cover 150may be securely associated with the structure base 104 via any methodand/or device suitable to the desired end purpose, such as screws,snaps, clips, adhesive and/or Velcro®. For example, in one embodiment,the structure base 104 may include one or more base mount openings andthe base cover 150 may include one or more cover mount structures,wherein the cover mount structures may define a threaded cavity forreceiving and containing a mounting screw 136. It should be appreciatedthat the base mount openings and the cover mount structures may belocated relative to each other such that when the base cover 150 isassociated with the structure base 104, the base mount openings and thecover mount structures are aligned, thereby allowing a mounting screw tobe inserted through the base mount openings and into the threaded cavityof the cover mount structures such that the mounting screw 136 maythreadingly interact with the threaded cavity of the cover mountstructures.

Moreover, it should also be appreciated that in other embodiments, anydevice and/or method may be used to securely associate the auxiliaryhard drive 132 and/or connector cable 144 with the structure base 104suitable to the desired end purpose, such as a friction fit, clips,snaps, screws, Velcro® and/or adhesive. For example, in one embodimentit is contemplated that the auxiliary hard drive 132 may be frictionallyand/or compressingly contained with the component cavity 130. In thisembodiment, the component cavity 130 may be sized such that when theauxiliary hard drive 132 is located therein, the sides of the auxiliaryhard drive 132 may be in contact with the component cavity wall 128 suchthat the auxiliary hard drive 132 is snugly and frictionally containedtherein. In yet another embodiment, when the base cover 150 is securelyassociated with the structure base 104, the base cover 150 may becompressed onto the top of the auxiliary hard drive 132 thereby securingthe auxiliary hard drive 132 within the component cavity 130.

Additionally, in still yet another embodiment, the auxiliary hard drive132 may be mounted within the component cavity 130 in a molded mountdesigned specifically for the type of auxiliary hard drive 132 that isbeing used. As such, the auxiliary hard drive 132 may be seated withinthe mold where it attaches to the connector cable 144. Moreover, itshould be appreciated that the cable connector 146 may be any type ofcable connector 146 desired suitable to the desired end purpose, such asUSB, Thunderbolt, etc. Additionally, in some embodiments, a cellularhotspot implant may be provided which would allow access to an internetconnection. This would serve two purposes for the product: 1)Functionality of also being able to offer an internet connection thoughcellular data and 2) Offering a cloud based backup service for theinternal and/or auxiliary hard drive 132.

In accordance with the invention, the structure base 104 may include aplurality of ventilation slots 200 to aid in cooling of the processingdevice (i.e. a laptop, tablet, etc. . . . ). Additionally, in otherembodiments the structure base 104 may include ventilation slots withinthe component cavity 130 to help prevent the auxiliary hard drive 132from getting over heated. In still yet other embodiments, a fan, othercooling apparatus and/or other method (such as an insulative covering)may be used to insulate or isolate the auxiliary hard drive 132 from theprocessing device (i.e. laptop, tablet, etc . . . ) to keep theauxiliary hard drive 132 from becoming heated. Also, the presentinvention may be used for other type of devices (other than auxiliaryhard drive 132) as desired and suitable to the desired end result.

Referring to FIG. 12, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the structure top cover 105is shown, wherein the structure top cover 105 includes a top cover wall202 which extends at least partially along the perimeter of thestructure top cover 105 to define a top cover cavity 204 which is sizedand shaped to contain the top (i.e. the back of the screen portion) ofthe laptop (or tablet) computing device 126. The top cover wall 202includes a plurality of clips or protrusions 206 that are located alongthe top cover wall 202 that are configured to securingly interact withthe top (i.e. the back of the screen portion) of the laptop (or tablet)computing device 126 to securely retain the top (i.e. the back of thescreen portion) of the laptop (or tablet) computing device 126 therein.It should be appreciated that in at least one other embodiment, the topcover 105 may not include a top cover wall 202. For example, thestructure top cover 105 may be “bowl” shaped such that the top covercavity 204 is shallow enough to securely contain the top (i.e. the backof the screen portion) of the laptop (or tablet) computing device 126 asdescribed hereinabove.

Referring to FIGS. 15-20, an auxiliary hard drive mounting article 300,in accordance with still yet another embodiment of the invention isprovided and includes a structure base 304 and/or a structure top cover305. The structure base 304 and/or structure top 305, may be completelyconstructed of a flexible and/or resilient material (such as rubber,polyethylene, etc . . . ) or the structure base 304 and/or structure topmay be partially constructed of a flexible and/or resilient material(such as rubber, polyethylene, etc . . . ). For example, in oneembodiment the corner portions of the structure base 304 and/or thestructure top cover 305 may be constructed from a flexible and/orresilient material while the middle portion of the structure base 304and/or the structure top cover 305 may be constructed from a rigidmaterial. The structure base 304 is configured to associate with thebase of the computing device 126, wherein the flexible and resilientstructure base 304 may fit snugly (like a glove or sock, for example)over the base of the computing device 126. Moreover, the structure base304 may include additional padding material located at key locations toprovide impact protection for the computing device 126. For example, theflexible and resilient structure base 304 may include thicker materialand/or padding along the edges and/or the corners of the structure base304 to protect the computing device 126. The flexible and/or resilientstructure base 304 may be stretched to fit over the base of thecomputing device 126 and elastically interact with the base of thecomputing device 126.

Additionally, because not all computing devices 126 are configuredalike, it is contemplated that the flexible and/or resilient structurebase 304 may be specially designed to fit a specific brand and/or modelof computing device 126. Furthermore, it is contemplated that thestructure top cover 305 may also be configured as a resilient and/orflexible top cover 105 and designed to snugly and frictionally associatewith the top (i.e. the back of the screen portion) of the computingdevice 126. Moreover, as with the other embodiment, the structure base304 may be configured to securely associate with a component 332,wherein the structure base 304 may include a component cavity 130 forcontaining the component 332, such as an auxiliary hard drive. Inanother embodiment, the structure base 304 may not specifically includethe component cavity 130, but rather may simply have a mounting clip (orother mounting device) for securing the component 332 within thestructure base 304. Referring to FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, another embodimentof the component 332 is shown, wherein the component 332 is securelyassociated with the structure base 304. It should be appreciated thatthe invention is not limited to an external hard drive, but rather maybe used to associate any component with a device suitable to the desiredend purpose.

It should be appreciated that while the invention has been describedwith reference to an exemplary embodiment, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and/oradditions may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elementsthereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Moreover, embodiments and/or parts/elements of embodiments disclosedherein may be combined as desired. In addition, many modifications maybe made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings ofthe invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it isintended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodimentdisclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention,but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within thescope of the appended claims. Moreover, unless specifically stated anyuse of the terms first, second, etc. do not denote any order orimportance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used todistinguish one element from another.

I claim:
 1. A low profile auxiliary hard drive mounting article,comprising: a structure top cover; and a structure base, wherein thestructure base includes a base top, a base bottom, a base front, a baserear and base sides which define a base cavity, wherein the structuretop cover is configured to at least partially enclose the base cavity,and wherein the structure base further includes a cable opening and acomponent cavity wall that defines a component cavity, wherein the cableopening is communicated with the component cavity, and wherein thecomponent cavity is configured to contain an auxiliary hard drive and atleast a portion of a connector cable having a cable connector, whereinthe cable opening is configured to allow at least a portion of theconnector cable and the cable connector to extend therefrom, and whereinthe structure base further includes a cable storage mount and a cableconnector mount, wherein the cable storage mount is located proximatethe cable opening and wherein the cable storage mount is configured tosecuringly contain the connector cable and the cable connector mount isconfigured to securingly contain the cable connector.
 2. The low profileauxiliary hard drive mounting article of claim 1, wherein the cablestorage mount is located on at least one of the base sides and isconfigured to securingly contain the connector cable via a friction fit.3. The low profile auxiliary hard drive mounting article of claim 1,wherein the cable connector mount is located proximate the connectorcable mount and is configured to securingly contain the cable connectorcable via a friction fit.
 4. The low profile auxiliary hard drivemounting article of claim 1, wherein the cable connector is a USBconnector.
 5. The low profile auxiliary hard drive mounting article ofclaim 1, wherein the structure top is configured to associate with ascreen portion of a laptop computing device.
 6. The low profileauxiliary hard drive mounting article of claim 1, wherein the componentcavity wall is located within the base cavity and extends upward fromthe base top.
 7. The low profile auxiliary hard drive mounting articleof claim 1, further including a base cover, wherein the base cover isconfigured to securely engage with the structure base to at leastpartially cover the base cavity.
 8. The low profile auxiliary hard drivemounting article of claim 1, wherein the structure base further includesat least one front base wall and at least one rear base wall, whereinthe at least one front base wall and at least one rear base wall arelocated to at least partially surround the base cavity.
 9. The lowprofile auxiliary hard drive mounting article of claim 1, wherein thestructure base further includes at least one front base wall whichincludes a plurality of protrusions, wherein the plurality ofprotrusions are located proximate the base cavity and are configured tointeract with a laptop computing device when the laptop computing deviceis located within the base cavity.
 10. A low profile component mountingarticle, comprising: a structure base, wherein the structure baseincludes a base top, a base bottom, a base front, a base rear and basesides which define a base cavity, and wherein the structure base furtherdefines a component cavity and a cable opening, wherein the cableopening is communicated with the component cavity, and wherein thecomponent cavity is configured to contain an auxiliary component and atleast a portion of a connector cable having a cable connector, whereinthe cable opening is configured to allow at least a portion of theconnector cable and the cable connector to extend therefrom, and whereinthe structure base further includes a cable storage mount and a cableconnector mount, wherein the cable storage mount is located proximatethe cable opening.
 11. The low profile component mounting article ofclaim 10, wherein the auxiliary component is an auxiliary hard drive.12. The low profile component mounting article of claim 10, furtherincluding a base cover, wherein the base cover is configured to securelyengage with the structure base to at least partially cover the basecavity.
 13. The low profile component mounting article of claim 10,wherein the cable storage mount is located on at least one of the basesides and is configured to securingly contain the connector cable via afriction fit.
 14. The low profile component mounting article of claim10, wherein the cable connector mount is located proximate the connectorcable mount and is configured to securingly contain the cable connectorcable via a friction fit.
 15. A low profile component mounting article,comprising: a structure base, wherein the structure base defines a basecavity for containing a laptop computing device, wherein the structurebase further defines a cable opening and is configured to contain anauxiliary component having a connector cable, wherein the cable openingis communicated with the base cavity, and wherein when the auxiliarycomponent is located within the base cavity, at least a portion of theextends out of the cable opening, and wherein the structure base furtherincludes a cable storage mount located proximate the cable opening andconfigured to removably contain the connector cable and a cableconnector mount located proximate the cable storage mount and configuredto removably contain the cable connector.
 16. The low profile componentmounting article of claim 15, wherein the auxiliary component is anauxiliary hard drive.
 17. The low profile component mounting article ofclaim 15, further including a base cover, wherein the base cover isconfigured to securely engage with the structure base to at leastpartially cover the base cavity.
 18. The low profile component mountingarticle of claim 15, wherein the cable storage mount is located on atleast one of the base sides and is configured to securingly contain theconnector cable via a friction fit.
 19. The low profile componentmounting article of claim 15, wherein the cable connector mount islocated proximate the connector cable mount and is configured tosecuringly contain the cable connector cable via a friction fit.
 20. Thelow profile hard drive mounting article of claim 15, wherein thestructure base further includes at least one front base wall whichincludes a plurality of protrusions, wherein the plurality ofprotrusions are located proximate the base cavity and are configured tointeract with a laptop computing device when the laptop computing deviceis located within the base cavity